Social Security -AARP-And Conservative politics

[packman]

"...fiscal conservatives seeking to cut the program for ideological reasons have resorted to hyping up its financial challenges. It is apparently easier to develop support for cutting promised benefits if people are not sure they will get those benefits anyway.

AARP’s television ad borrows from that conservative framing. The 30-second spot airing on cable news channels shows younger and middle-aged workers ― a cook, a firefighter, a football coach ― doing their jobs and suggests that candidates for public office are not doing theirs in failing to tackle Social Security’s shortfall. It concludes with a warning that Americans could suffer a $10,000 benefit cut if the next president fails to act."

AARP seems to be playing on the fears of the elderly to advance its own agenda . By painting a dire and gloomy picture of the financial future of SS, AARP is pushing for conservative politics

"Just this summer, the group bestowed several of its “Champion of the 50+” awards on Republican lawmakers who have either explicitly supported benefit cuts or expressed openness to them"

And-

"AARP also has some longtime Republican operatives running the campaign. John Hishta, who as AARP’s senior vice president for campaigns runs “Take A Stand,” has a background in Republican politics. He served as executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2001 to 2002 and as chief of staff to former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis (R) before that. And the group has hired veteran GOP pollster and message guru Frank Luntz to conduct focus groups for “Take A Stand.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aarp-conservative-social-security_us_57fbe10be4b068ecb5e0d0f3?section=&

[still_one]

1. Something does need to be done about Social Security. How about raising the CAP?

[pangaia]

2. AARP is the biggest crock of shit going, right up there with

the Chamber of Commerce.

I haven't been able to get them to stop sending me junk mail for 2 years.

[vlyons]

3. Not for "Ideological Reasons"

It's not for Ayn Rander "ideological reasons" that conservatives want to destroy SSI. But for greed and theft. They want to privatize SSI by banks, wall street, and insurance compaines, so they can skim 30% off the top for "administrative costs" and marketing on TV. That means that every paycheck, every year, from your very first job to when you retire will have a big chunk of money that you earned and is supposed to be stashed in your retirement benefits will go to Wall St CEOs.

Make no mistake. The Republican party is a vast criminal enterprise.

[MrScorpio]

4. Believe it or not, there's a winger seniors org, just to the right of the AARP

They think that the AARP is too "leftist."

The people on that RWNJ station I listen to from time to time are to the right of Atilla the Hun anyway.

[Vinca]

5. We're on SS and recently got junk mail from AARP with their "Save SS" spiel.

IMO, the organization is part of the conservative plot to privatize everything and nothing more.

[Wounded Bear]

6. It's been going on for decades...

It's the old "it won't be there when I retire" crap. I was hearing it back in the 1980's and 90's myself. That's why my generation has been paying double since Reagan. It was supposed to be 'pay as you go." They set up the "trust fund." It wasn't supposed to carry a surplus.

A few fairly minor tweaks would keep the program solvent for another 50-75 years. Of course, to do that we'd need a Congress that is actually willing to do their fucking jobs.

[treestar]

7. It is Congress that has to act

So when they elect a Congress that does nothing it's on them.